Brown University Includes Transgender Students in Health Plan

In an announcement made last week, Brown University announced it will join 35 other US colleges that cover gender-reassignment surgery in their student health plan starting in August. The new health insurance plans covers "14 different sexual reassignment surgery procedures" reports the Brown Daily Herald. Jeanne Hebert, Director of Insurance and Purchasing Services, told the school paper that "We identified this as an important benefit for students to have access to," and expressed that their policy change was consistent with "Brown's efforts to support all students."

Brown's decision is an indicator of how transgender students are gaining more visibility on campus. According to the New York Times, six years ago no university or college in the United States offered gender reassignment surgery or hormonal therapy through their health insurance plans.

The Transgender Law and Policy Institute has compiled a list of US colleges and universities that cover the medical expenses of transition for transgender students under their student health insurance policies. This list includes some of the top ranked schools in America such as Harvard, Stanford, and the University of California system. This listing includes the 36 colleges that cover both hormones and gender-reassignment surgery, an additional 25 colleges that only cover hormones, and a single university that covers just gender-reassignment surgery.

Media Resources: Brown Daily Herald 2/6/13; New York Times 2/12/13, Transgender Law and Policy Institute